THE RICHEST SCOT IN THE EMPIRE, BBC2, 9pm
JOHN Patrick Crichton-Stuart, the 3rd Marquess of Bute, was the richest Scotsman in the British Empire. Most of his incredible wealth was spent on architecture and creating buildings sprung from “fairytale castles and Gothic fantasy”.
This documentary tells his story, and the first thing to note is how surprising his views and interests were. We think of wealthy Victorian men as strict, traditional and domineering, but Bute supported women’s rights and striking miners, spoke Welsh and Gaelic, and was partial to a bit of ghost hunting in his spare time.
A descendant of Robert the Bruce, he was also a passionate Scottish nationalist. As the show declares, this made him “one of the most fascinating characters of the 19th century”. We learn about his passion for extravagant architecture, his maverick personality, and how his legacy links the island of Bute to Cardiff.
OUTLANDER, MORE4, 9pm
YES, I assume most of us have seen Outlander but it’s worth noting that it’s now being brought to an accessible TV channel having previously been available only through Amazon’s subscription service.
So here’s an excuse, if fans needed one, to watch it all again from scratch. That does mean, however, that you’ll need to endure the very slow opening episode. When I watched it the first time, I’d heard so much about it, so was quickly demanding to know where all the sweaty, swashbuckling Highlanders were.
Instead, we had a dowdy couple taking a Scottish country break in Inverness. It was worthy but dull. But then the rip in time opens by the ancient circle of standing stones, our heroine stumbles through, and the story shoots off in a far more fascinating direction where she’s thrown back to 18th-century Scotland.
No, we don’t need an excuse to watch it all again.
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